Biggest sports scandals of the 21st century

January 18, 2013 10:08 AM

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Lance Armstrong's doping saga is just one of many sports scandals to make headlines recently. As we all know, sports offers us plenty of drama on and off the field. Click through the gallery for a look at 20 of the biggest sports scandals of the 21st century.

Lance Armstrong's doping saga is just one of many sports scandals to make headlines recently. As we all know, sports offers us plenty of drama on and off the field. Click through the gallery for a look at 20 of ... more

Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images

Lance Armstrong's doping saga is just one of many sports... Photo-4050278.55326 - Houston Chronicle

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2000 | Spanish paralympic basketball team cheats for gold

Spain's basketball team in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney cleaned up in the tournament, often dominating other countries and ultimately taking home the gold medal. Turned out, only two of the 12 team members had disabilities, and the team was stripped of their gold medals after being exposed.

Little League pitcher Danny Almonte (left) threw a perfect game and led his New York City team to the World Series as a 12-year-old. Or not. An investigation eventually found that Almonte, who was born in the Dominican Republic, was actually 14 and shouldn't have been eligible to play Little League ball.

In the summer of 2003, Baylor hoopster Patrick Dennehy disappeared after a party, and teammate Carlton Dotson eventually pleaded guilty to Dennehy's murder. An NCAA probe found that Baylor coach Dave Bliss had paid Dennehy's and another teammate's tuition, but Bliss falsely told investigators that Dennehy paid his own way through school with money he earned by dealing drugs. The NCAA also found multiple other violations, and Bliss resigned before Baylor was slapped with serious penalties.

Police arrested L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant in July 2003 after a woman accused him of raping her at a hotel. With his wife, Vanessa, by his side, Bryant admitted to adultery (pictured) but insisted the sexual encounter was consensual. The case against him was eventually dropped in September 2004, and Bryant also settled a civil lawsuit over the alleged incident.

In October 2005, 17 members of the Minnesota Vikings had a wild romp on Lake Minnetonka, allegedly organized by cornerback Fred Smoot (pictured). According to reports, prostitutes were flown in and allegedly performed kinky sex acts with some Vikings players in front of everybody on two chartered boats. Four Vikings were eventually charged with misdemeanors for lewd conduct.

In March 2006, a stripper who was hired for a Duke lacrosse team party accused three players of raping her at the event. After a long and high-profile investigation and trial, the players were cleared of all charges in April 2007 when it became clear the accusation was false. The lead prosecutor, Mike Nifong, was eventually disbarred for the case and spent a night in jail for contempt of court.

In July 2007, when he was quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick (pictured) was charged with operating an illegal dog-fighting venture called ''Bad Newz Kennels.'' That August, he and three co-defendants pleaded guilty and Vick was eventually sentenced to prison. He got out in July 2009 and returned to the NFL as QB with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In August 2007, after an investigation by the FBI, 13-year veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy (pictured) pleaded guilty to two felony gambling charges when it was found that he bet on NBA games for four years. His most disgraceful crime, it seems, was betting on games he officiated. After serving 13 months in prison and many more on probation, he reportedly got a job in November 2012 with a sports-gambling website.

On Sept. 10, 2007, the New York Jets accused Patriots coach Bill Belichick (pictured) of authorizing his staff to videotape signals used by the Jets during the teams' matchup the day before. The NFL investigated, found that New England had indeed violated league rules by filming the Jets' signals, and fined Belichick $500,000. It also fined the Patriots $250,000 and stripped the team of their 2008 first-round draft pick. less

2007 | 'Spygate' and the New England Patriots

On Sept. 10, 2007, the New York Jets accused Patriots coach Bill Belichick (pictured) of authorizing his staff to videotape signals used by the Jets during the ... more

After winning five gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and becoming a beloved American sports star, sprinter Marion Jones tearfully admitted (pictured) in October 2007 to using performance-enhancing drugs. In 2008, she spent six months in jail for perjury after admitting she lied to a grand jury that was investigating athletes suspected of doping.

After Jose Canseco's book ''Juiced'' and the MLB's own Mitchell Report accused dozens of pro baseball players of using performance-enhancing drugs, pitching legend Roger Clemens (pictured) testified before Congress in a wide-reaching probe of the sport. Clemens wasn't alone among the accused, but he became the poster boy for the steroids scandal. In 2012, after one mistrial, he was found not guilty of perjury after a grand jury accused him of lying to Congress.

South Africa's Caster Semenya won gold (pictured) in the 800 meters at the 2009 track and field world championships, finishing in a record time of 1:56.72. But her amazing improvement in the previous seven months raised suspicion that she was doping or was -- of all things -- not female. Semenya was asked to take a gender test, which showed she was, in fact, a woman.

In July 2009, a woman accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (pictured) of sexually assaulting her in his Lake Tahoe hotel room. A year later, in March 2010, another woman accused him of raping her inside a Georgia nightclub women's restroom. Roethlisberger was never charged, but was suspended for the first six games of the 2010 season.

2009 | Tiger Woods has many affairs, crashes car after argument with wife

Two days after a tabloid wrote that Tiger Woods (pictured) had an extramarital affair, the golf superstar crashed his Escalade into a fire hydrant, a tree and several bushes after having an argument with his wife, Elin Nordegren. In the aftermath, more than a dozen women came out to say they'd had affairs with Woods, and he ended up admitting to infidelity. Several companies dropped him as a sponsor and he ended up divorcing in August 2010.

Reggie Bush (pictured) led the USC Trojans to the national championship in 2005 as a star running back, won the Heisman Trophy and was taken second overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. But reports soon surfaced that he and others received improper benefits at USC, and in 2010 Bush ended up voluntarily forfeiting his Heisman award. The NCAA penalized USC hard, vacating its championship season and banning the Trojans from the postseason for two years.

In November 2011, after a three-year investigation, Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky (pictured) was indicted on 40 counts of sexual crimes against young boys, including sexual assault in the football program's locker rooms. It was learned that the head coach, Joe Paterno, had known about Sandusky's conduct -- as did other members of the football staff and university administration. Paterno was fired and died of lung cancer in January 2012, and Sandusky was sentenced in October 2012 to 30 to 60 years in prison. Three other Penn State officials were charged in the cover-up. The school was also heavily sanctioned by the NCAA.

In March 2012, the NFL said it had evidence against Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (pictured) for creating a ''bounty'' system, in which his players were given bonuses for injuring specific players of opposing teams. The NFL, already embroiled in controversy surrounding football-related head injuries, sanctioned the Saints by fining the club $500,000, taking away its second-round draft picks in 2012 and 2013, and suspending head coach Sean Payton for covering up the scheme. Williams was suspended indefinitely. Four New Orleans players were also suspended, but their penalties were vacated in December 2012.

In April 2012, Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino (pictured) was involved in a motorcycle crash along with Jessica Dorrell, a former Arkansas volleyball player whom Petrino had hired as an athletics staffer. In the fallout, it was found that Petrino failed to disclose his romantic relationship with Dorrell and he was fired. In December 2012, he accepted a job as the new head coach at Western Kentucky.

The NFL, having locked out its regular officials during a labor dispute, used replacement refs through the first three weeks of the 2012 season -- and football fans were not pleased. The outcry came to a head when replacement officials called a controversial touchdown on the last play of a ''Monday Night Football'' game between the Seahawks and Packers on Sept. 24 in Seattle -- a Hail Mary pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to receiver Golden Tate that, on replays, appeared to have been intercepted by Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings. The Seahawks won 14-12 and the controversy prompted a settlement between the NFL and its regular officials.

Having faced accusations for the better part of a decade that he used performance-enhancing drugs, star cyclist Lance Armstrong finally admitted his doping in January 2013 in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. The confession came after he was stripped in 2012 of his seven-straight Tour de France championships -- a feat he achieved after surviving testicular cancer in the 1990s -- and after he stepped down from his Livestrong Foundation in disgrace.